AME Info, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, energy, oil and gas briefs

12:36 p.m. EST, June 26, 2012|AME Info

JORDAN SENATE ENDORSES BP GAS EXPLORATION DEAL : The Jordanian Senate has endorsed the 2010 draft gas exploration agreement signed between the government, the National Petroleum Co and BP Exploration Operating Co as referred from the Lower House, Jordan Times has reported. The agreement aims to improve the Risheh gas field in the east of the kingdom, the country's largest known field, to cover local needs of gas and export the surplus. Under the agreement, BP is to spend three to four years exploring a plot measuring around 7,000 sq km along the Jordanian-Iraqi border, at an estimated cost of $237m. If proven economically feasible, BP will then provide $8bn-$10bn in investment in hopes of extracting 330 million cubic feet (mcf) of gas from the field per day, with the potential to produce up to one billion cubic feet daily.

IRANIAN OIL MINISTER UPSET WITH SLOW PRODUCTION RATE OF IN SHARED FIELDS: Iranian oil minister has said his country is lagging much behind the neighbouring countries with regard to oil extraction from shared oil and gas fields with these countries, reiterating the need for an accelerated development of such fields, Fars news has reported. "We have around 26 shared oil and gas fields with the other countries, including 15 offshore and 7 onshore fields," Rostam Qassemi told an open session of the parliament. Iran has around 197 oil and gas fields, he noted. "Our main priority is moving towards output in shared fields and determining their fate."